Hello Film Explorers! Welcome back for another analysis of a children’s movie. This week we will watch and discuss Space Jam (1996). I was thinking about this movie and the three different worlds we see: space, earth, and the tune world. These worlds represent hell, purgatory, and heaven. Let’s see how. Space, namely “Moron Mountain”, is a dark, dirty place. The aliens need to offer “new attractions”, “big shiny new things” because they need beings to continue to go to the theme park. This is similar to hell because hell may not need to look pretty, but it needs to offer sinful appeal. There is something attractive about not following rules and getting what you want. That is what Moron Mountain offers, something that looks good but may not be the best decision. Some of you would be surprised to hear “3-D Land” is purgatory. Well it really is for Michael Jordan (himself). He decided to quit basketball and pursue baseball. Well that is not really working out because he simply is not built for baseball. He is in a sport purgatory where he does not know where he fits in. Basketball is over, baseball is not working, and golf does not seem promising. What next?

However, earth appears to be purgatory for the basketball players the Monstars steal the “talent” from as well. Charles Barkley (himself), Patrick Ewing (himself), Muggsy Bogues (Tyrone Bogues), Larry Johnson (himself), and Shawn Bradley (himself) undergo multiple tests to figure out why they cannot play basketball anymore. Their whole world has been basketball, and now it has been wrecked by “little aliens from outer space”.

Photo from Sneaker News.

While Looney Tune Land is on earth, it is underground in a whole separate atmosphere. It is a place where pain does not really exist and life is not necessarily at risk. This place is like heaven because everyone appears to be fairly happy in their existence and cannot actually die. Even Michael gets rolled up into a human ball and thrown around without dying. He does not even seem to be in a lot of pain. And I hope you all appreciated the situational irony in that heaven is underground and hell is overhead. Heaven, hell, and purgatory are parts of the afterlife people, especially people in a Christian society, think about regularly. The three worlds of this film do not fit these levels of the afterlife perfectly, but I think they do apply. While I love finding online ideas about the movies I blog about, this movie seems to be universally hated… I like this film. Is it the best marriage between live action and animation? No. Is the script ground breaking? No. However, I am entertained by this film and still enjoy it as an adult. Thank you for your time and feel free to leave comments below!